To celebrate the release of the new Full Blown Chaos album, Heavy Lies the Crown, we bring you the video for "Apocalypse" from the band's 2004 album Wake the Demons. Also out this week, new releases by As I Lay Dying, Through the Eyes of the Dead, Coliseum, The Devil Wears Prada, Madball and Ringworm, but you'll have to wait until another time to check out their videos. Now, here's Full Blown Chaos:

When it comes to comedy, heavy metal has historically received scant attention. Generally it's overweight, wheezy dudes make fun of it or skinny guys in glasses talk about how they were afraid of the metal kids in their high school. But with the exception of Jim Breuer and Brian Posehn, good metal comedy is about as common as healthy fast food. With a bit of digging, however, we dug up footage of Seattle comedian Paul Merrill performing a piece called "Lords of Rockville" before a crowd of, maybe, 12.

Paul Merrill-Lords of Rockville

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Even if it seems like the American mass media mocks, marginalizes and demonizes heavy metal, be glad you live in a free country.

Blabbermouth.net recently ran a link to a truly disturbing Iranian TV report about heavy metal (click center picture to activate video). The clip was approved by the Islamic cleric (Mullah) in charge of overseeing the media and ran on Channel 2.

In addition to negatively criticizing metal and its fans, the broadcast makes numerous discriminatory comments and embraces absurd stereotypes.

At one point, the reporter aligns metal fans with devil worshipers and says, "Devil worship originated in England in the 19th century. It is supported by Jewish and America capitalists. Drug use and depraved sexual rituals are part of the daily life of devil worshipers."

Later, the reporter credits rap and metal for encouraging listeners to "violence, fear, lack of discipline, death, pain, recklessness, and paranoia."

And finally, to completely terrify the parents of metalheads into subduing or disciplining their children, the broadcaster draws a parallel between headbangers and homosexuals -- a sexual orientation for which radical Islamic has no tolerance.

"Another type of [heavy metal] hairstyle and clothing is that of the homosexuals," says the reporter. "Some of the youth unknowingly make themselves look like homosexuals."

Almost as scary, when the reporter is not blaspheming metal or interviewing metal fans, the b-roll is almost all old shots of Kiss, clearly one of the most metal forces in the Middle East. We know that resources are slim over there, which might have prevented the acquisition of clips by Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon or Gorgoroth, but couldn't they have at least gotten something by Poison, Motley Crue or Linkin Park?

Despite, or maybe because of the stranglehold of the ruling regine in Iran, some of the region's bands are pretty good, including death metal bands ArthimotH, SdS and Cotalors. But the best we could find is progressive death metal band, Kahtmayan:

On a recent dirt biking expedition in Redding, California, Machine Head bassist Adam Duce took a nasty spill and broke his leg. As a result, the band will have to find a replacement for the upcoming Black Tyranny North American tour this fall.

After the accident, Duce thought he had badly sprained the leg, but x-rays revealed more serious injury that required immediate surgery to attach a steel plate and two screws to the broken bone.

"It sucks to be in this position, because we have such a killer tour set up for the end of the summer and now we'll have to find a replacement for me," Duce said. "I've never missed one show that this band has ever played up to this point, and I never thought I would see the day when Machine Head would be playing and I wouldn't be on stage."

The band are currently auditioning bassists and are expected to announce Duce's temporary replacement soon. The Black Tyranny tour launches on September 7 in Anaheim, California and runs through October 13 in Hollywood. Machine Head will co-headline the tour with Arch Enemy. Throwdown and Sanctity will open. Duce plans to return to the band in time for the Australian and European legs of the Black Crusade Tour, which begin at the Loud Park festival on October 21 and 22 in Osaka, Japan.

North America Black Tyranny Tour Dates:
9/7 ANAHEIM, CA @ HOUSE OF BLUES
9/8 LAS VEGAS,NV @ JILLIAN’S
9/9 SAN DIEGO, CA @ SOMA
9/11 TUSCON,AZ @ RIALTO THEATRE
9/13 DALLAS,TX @ HOUSE OF BLUES
9/14 HOUSTON,TX @ MERIDIAN
9/15 NEW ORLEANS,LA @ HOUSE OF BLUES
9/17 LAKE BUENA VISTA ,FL @ HOUSE OF BLUES
9/18 ATLANTA, GA @ MASQUERADE
9/19 JACKSONVILLE, NC @ HOOLIGANS
9/21 WORCESTER, MA @ PALLADIUM
9/22 NEW YORK, NY @ NOKIA THEATRE
9/23 BALTIMORE, MD @ SONAR
9/24 NORFOLK, VA @ NORVA
9/26 PHILADELPHIA, PA @ TROCADERO
9/27 BUFFALO, NY @ EVOLUTION
9/28 TORONTO, ON @ OPERA HOUSE
9/29 @ MONTREAL, QUE @ THE MEDLEY
10/1 CLEVELAND, OH @ HOUSE OF BLUES
10/2 CHICAGO, IL @ HOUSE OF BLUES
10/3 MINNEAPOLIS, MN @ FIRST AVE
10/5 DETROIT, MI @ HARPOS
10/6 GRAND RAPIDS, MI @ ORBIT ROOM
10/7 ST. LOUIS, MO @ POPS
10/9 ENGLEWOOD,CO @ GOTHIC THEATRE
10/10 ALBEQUERQUE,NM @ SUNSHINE THEATRE
10/12 SAN FRANCISCO,CA @ THE WARFIELD
10/13 HOLLYWOOD,CA @ AVALON

While Duce recuperates, let's lose our minds to "Seasons Wither":

When we handed the Bang of Week voting honors to melodically gifted Grand Rapids, Michigan metalcore band Still Remains, we figured they'd plug one of the Swedish bands that have so influenced them, so imagine our surprise when they sent the love to Boston noisemongers The Red Chord, who wouldn't know a melodic hook if it poked out one of their eyeballs.

"This band deserves Bang of the Week because they are one of the fastest, heaviest and most technical bands around right now," said Still Remains singer TJ Miller. "And aside from that, their new album Prey for Eyes Rules."
Okay, get ready, here's The Red Chord with "Fixation on Plastics":

Between the release of Demiricous' 2006 debut One (Hellbound) and the recording of their second disc Two (Poverty), (scheduled for late October), the band members have smashed a lot of stuff, puked a lot of beer and done themselves some semi-serious bodily harm. And, thanks to the wonder of handheld digital videocams, they've documented much of it on the following clip. We're not sure if it reminds us more of Pantera's "Vulgar Videos" or "Jackass," but either way there are a lot of cringe-inducing "don't try this at home" moments along with some cool live shots and a ripping soundtrack.
Demiricous - Two (Poverty)

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No, there were no fireballs at this concert by Norwegian band Silver, just photographer Espen Stranger Seland with a really well timed shot that stands as one of the coolest live photos we've ever seen -- one that captures the firepower and turbulence of an exciting show.

Lots of other cool shots of punk and indie bands, including New Bomb Turks and Nine Pound Hammer can be found at Seland's Official Web site.

If hotshot producer Jason Suecof (Chimaira, Trivium, The Black Dahlia Murder) suddenly goes tone deaf, maybe, just maybe he'll still be able to pay the bills working as a director or videographer.

During down time from recent studio sessions with The Black Dahlia Murder, Suecof shot footage of guitarist Brian Eschbach joking around, making up stories and smashing a watermelon with a golf club. Then, the aspiring director created this bizarre, hilarious clip that includes some of the band's music in the background, but has practically nothing to do with music:

If you're more interested in what the upcoming The Black Dahlia Murder album, Nocturnal (out September 18), actually sounds like, check out the band's new ecard, which features the track "What a Horrible Night"; the track is also streaming on the band's MySpace.

Few groups command less respect than tribute bands. No matter how dedicated they are to resurrecting the energy and spirit of their favorite rockers, no matter how accurately they reflect the look and sound of those they emulate, their output is generally regarded as little more than half-assed mimicry.

Even if they're selling out clubs and exciting crowds, they'll always be weighed against the lofty heights of the bands they cover and the moment they try writing originals, they're likely to be discarded by even their most devoted followers.

The greatest dilemma for cover musicians is that none of their fans want them to be original. The more accurately they copy the songs of others, the better they're perceived to be. Impersonation is valued over originality and, even if the musicians are killer players, their skills are generally under appreciated.

In a male-dominated industry, maybe it's not so surprising that the most popular tribute bands are the ones composed of women playing songs by men: AC/DSHE, Cheap Chick, Ms. Fits and The Iron Maidens -- arguably the best of the batch. For the idealist, the success of female cover bands has something to do with the way women interpret and externalize male characteristics. In reality, it probably has at least as much to do with the audience's desire for some good old T&A.

Regardless, The Iron Maidens aren't merely eye candy. They've mastered the art of faithfully recreating the songs of their heroes, and, in the process earned the respect of the masters and the admiration of a loyal fanbase, which flocks to their sold-out club shows. But don't just take our word for it, check out these two videos, which intercut footage from actual Iron Maiden videos with the soundtrack and visuals of the band playing the House of Blues.

Number Of The Beast

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The correct answer to the indecipherable logo of the day is b) Totale Vernichtung.

There's not much information floating around about this Austrian black metal band that broke up in December 2006. We're not sure when they formed, but before they cashed in their pentagrams, they released four demos, Feuer und Krieg, Massenmord an Untermenschen, Vergessene Hymnen, and Die Rückkehr des schwarzen Todes.

And while they were never signed, they managed to stir up a bit of controversy with their primitive early Bathory-meets-Blut-Aus-Nord style clamor. According to some of the parchment we were able to dig up in our research, some accused Totale Vernichtung of poor driving, having bad breath and being part of the National Socialist Black Metal movement. We can't say anything about the first two, but the band vehemently denied that they were part of any sort of racist jerkhead Nazi metal scene.

" Despite some suspicious song titles and lyrics, Totale Vernichtung is not 'NSBM' or a political band in any way," it said on its Web site.

Also, according to their Web site, some of their old junk is still on sale, including the first demo Feuer und Krieg, which was apparently unavailable for some time, but not sold out and the compilation demo "Vergessene Hymnen" which contains the band's "earliest stuff." Those interested in buying the demos or sending hate mail can write: thetotale_vernichtung@hotmail.com